We’ve officially reached the scorching days of summer if you’re a regular sports bettor.
The NBA and NHL playoffs have passed, and the football season is still months away. This means the focus will be on the day-to-day of Major League Baseball.
And for an MLB team, the past few weeks have certainly been tough.
The New York Mets are in the midst of a miserable time. They’ve lost nine of their last 10 games following a nasty 7-6 loss to intercity rival New York Yankees on Tuesday night at Citi Field.
The game started with some promise. By the end of the third inning, the Mets had built a 5-1 lead and had ace Max Scherzer on the mound. But that lead quickly disintegrated when the Yankees tagged Scherzer for five runs in the top of the fourth to take a 6-5 lead.
The Mets tied things at 6-6 in the fifth, but gave the Yankees a run back in the top of the sixth after center Brandon Nimmo failed to carry a catch ball off Anthony Volpe’s bat. The error sent Billy McKinney to third and McKinney scored on a sacrifice fly from Josh Donaldson the very next hitter.
It turned out to be the winning run as the Yankees bullpen closed the door with 4 1/3 shutout innings, including navigating out of a goal-laden situation and one out in end of eighth. There was also an ejection for Mets reliever Drew Smith for allegedly having a sticky substance on his hand.
It was a bad night for the Mets.
With the loss, the Mets fell to 31-36 on the year, good for fourth place in the National League East. It’s only a two-game set with the Yankees, so the Mets will get another shot against the Bronx Bombers on Wednesday night.
It will be veteran Justin Verlander on the mound for the Mets against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. Cole is 7-1 with a 2.84 ERA on the year compared to Verlander’s 2-3 record and 4.85 ERA. Verlander was scored for seven hits and four earned runs in just three innings in his last outing. He’ll need a much better effort to get the Mets back in the win column.
Even with Cole on the hill and the Mets scuffles, the Yankees are only slight favorites at BetMGM at -115. The Mets are at -105 with a total of 7.5 points.
What else is going on in baseball?
The Oakland Athletics are on fire.
The A’s lost 50 of their first 62 games this season, but suddenly found success with an unexpected seven-game winning streak. The A’s took two of three wins in Pittsburgh, then swept the Milwaukee Brewers before heading home to face the Tampa Bay Rays, the team with the best record in baseball.
On Monday, the A’s won 4-3. On Tuesday, the A’s – with a lively crowd protesting the club’s impending move to Las Vegas – came back to win 2-1.
Despite their recent wins, the A’s are big underdogs again on Wednesday. Radii are -275 and A’s are +230 at BetMGM.
Other intriguing matchups on Wednesday’s schedule include the Baltimore Orioles (-105) hosting the Toronto Blue Jays (-115), the Texas Rangers (-140) hosting the Los Angeles Angels (+115) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (-135) hosting the Philadelphia Phillies (+110).
Prospective odds for the 2024 Stanley Cup
The Vegas Golden Knights won their first Stanley Cup on Tuesday night by taking down the Florida Panthers in five games.
We’re only hours away from the NHL offseason, but BetMGM already have chances for next season’s Cup winner.
Here are the teams at the top of the odds table: